Nikki Haley Blasts American Airlines for Cancelled Shuttle Flight

by Gary Leff

trump with nikki haley
Oct 16 2018

UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who will be stepping down from her post at the end of the year, blasted American Airlines on Twitter for their operational reliability.

There’s much speculation about why Haley is stepping down from her post at the U.N., including whether she might be appointed U.S. Senator from South Carolina if Lindsey Graham were named attorney general after the midterms (with the President asking for Jeff Sessions to resign). American, though, had better hope she’s not waiting in the wings to replace Elaine Chao at the Department of Transportation.

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Korean Air CEO Indicted

by Gary Leff

korean air plane
Oct 16 2018

Cho Yang-Ho is facing charges of embezzling ~ US$17.4 million. Korean Air is owned by Hanjin Group of which he’s also Chairman. In addition to that embezzlement he’s accused of taking US$135 million “from the state insurance agency in medical care benefits by illegally running a pharmacy under a borrowed name.”

He’s the father of the infamous ‘nut rage’ Vice President who served a brief prison sentence after hitting a flight attendant and order a plane back to the gate in New York after predeparture nuts were served improperly in first class.

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Tara Reid and Her Dog Were Kicked Off Delta Flight After Seat Assignment and Pillow Meltdown

by Gary Leff

tara reid holding dog on plane
Oct 16 2018

Sharknado and American Pie star Tara Reid and her dog were kicked off of Delta flight 613 from Los Angeles to New York JFK yesterday.

Apparently the actress was apoplectic over her seat assignment and that she didn’t have a pillow. The aircraft had already pushed back when the captain announced to the plane that they’d be returning to the gate causing a delay.

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Air India Flight Attendant Fell Off a Boeing 777

by Gary Leff

air india plane
Oct 15 2018

This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen, usually when departing from a remote stand when air stairs have been removed before the door closes. Falling onto concrete from a Boeing 777 is more severe than doing so from a 737, though both carry real risk.

This doesn’t come close, though, to the flight attendant who fell 33,000 feet from the sky and lived for forty four more years.

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7 Surprising Facts About Airlines in Asia

by Gary Leff

Oct 15 2018

This week’s issue of Airline Weekly (subscription) contains charts on the largest airlines in each of the largest country markets in East Asia, based on Diio Mi data on scheduled seats in 2018.

The biggest takeaways are the growth of Chinese carriers and the declining importance in Southeast Asia of national carriers relative to low cost carriers which are overtaking them, especially on short haul and domestic routes.

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Bob Crandall Says Deregulation Gives Us Cramped Seating. Here’s What Will Give Us a Better Product.

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
Oct 15 2018

Airline deregulation was opposed by nearly all US airlines in 1978. It was championed by Senator Ted Kennedy (and his aide now Justice Stephen Breyer) and by consumer advocate Ralph Nader and signed into law by Jimmy Carter.

Bob Crandall was against deregulation then, and he’s against it now in retirement. And he’s blaming it for cramped airline seating. He also calls codesharing a ‘fraud’ to fool people.

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